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Documents of Dada and Surrealism:
Dada and Surrealist Journals
in the Mary Reynolds Collection
IRENE E. HOFMANN
Ryerson and Burnham Libraries, The Art Institute of Chicago
Dada 6 (Bulletin
Dada),
ed. Tristan Tzara
(Paris, February
1920), cover.
The Mary Reynolds Collection, which entered The Art Institute of
Chicago in 1951, contains, in addition to a rich array of books, art, and
her own extraordinary bindings, a remarkable group of periodicals and
ESSAYS
journals. As a member of so many of the artistic and literary circles
View Works of Art
publishing periodicals, Reynolds was in a position to receive many
Book Bindings by
Mary Reynolds
journals during her life in Paris. The collection in the Art Institute
includes over four hundred issues, with many complete runs of journals
represented. From architectural journals to radical literary reviews, this
selection of periodicals constitutes a revealing document of European
artistic and literary life in the years spanning the two world wars.
In the early part of the twentieth century, literary and artistic reviews
were the primary means by which the creative community exchanged
ideas and remained in communication. The journal was a vehicle for
promoting emerging styles, establishing new theories, and creating a
context for understanding new visual forms. These reviews played a
pivotal role in forming the spirit and identity of movements such as
Dada and Surrealism and served to spread their messages throughout
Europe and the United States.
For the Dadaists, publications served to distinguish and define Dada in
the many cities it infiltrated and allowed its major figures to assert their
power and position. As Dada took hold in cities throughout Europe,
each manifestation was unique, reflecting the city's own artistic and
social climates. Every incarnation of Dada spurred a proliferation of
new journals and reviews that announced Dada activities, attracted new
members, and further established a Dada program.
Similarly, for the leaders of Surrealism, the journal was a powerful
means by which they could impose their agenda and assert their
politics. The journal was an ideal vehicle for Surrealists to disseminate
their manifestos and establish their presence across Europe.
Publications introduced the group's poetry and imagery and provided a
forum for interpretations of dreams and experiments with automatic
writing and imagery, and offered a medium for exploring relationships
between text and image. In the later, less stable years of Surrealism, the
journal also served as a stage for bitter conflicts between the group's
members.
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Since so many of the initial manifestations of Dada and Surrealism were
public gatherings, demonstrations, and other similar activities, the
journals, through their announcements and coverage of these events,
provide invaluable documentation of the evolution of Dada and
Surrealism. Their passionate coverage of art, politics, and culture
captures the climate that fueled the Dada and Surrealist revolts and
contributes greatly to our understanding of the often enigmatic imagery
of these movements.
The journals discussed here are not the only periodicals published
under the aegis of Dada and Surrealism, nor are the cities discussed the
only ones affected by them.[1] They are, however, some of the most
prominent and influential and represent the highlights of the journals in
the Mary Reynolds Collection.
Zurich: The Birth of Dada
In February 1916, as World War I raged on, Dada came into being in
Zurich in a small tavern on Spieglestrasse that became known as the
Cabaret Voltaire. Founded by the German poet Hugo Ball and his
companion, singer Emmy Hennings, Cabaret Voltaire soon attracted
artists and writers from across Europe who fled their countries and
went to neutral Zurich to escape the war.[ 2] Ball's cabaret provided
ideal conditions for artistic freedom and experimentation and an
atmosphere that supported the fomenting of revolt. A press
announcement for the cabaret declared:
Cabaret Voltaire. Under this name a group of young artists
has formed with the object of becoming a center for
artistic entertainment. The Cabaret Voltaire will be run on
the principle of daily meetings where visiting artists will
perform their music and poetry. The young artists of
Zurich are invited to bring along their ideas and
contributions.[3]
Jean Arp, Richard Huelsenbeck, Marcel Janco, Sophie Taeuber, and
Tristan Tzara were among the artists and poets who responded and
began gathering in Ball's Zurich tavern. From this diverse and
passionate group, the Dada revolution was conceived and fueled. As
German artist Hans Richter recalled, there was a highly charged
atmosphere at the cabaret that united this diverse group in a common
goal: "It seemed that the very incompatibility of character, origins and
attitudes which existed among the Dadaists created the tension which
gave, to this fortuitous conjunction of people from all points of the
compass, its unified dynamic force."[4]
United in their frustration and disillusionment with the war and their
disgust with the culture that allowed it, the Dadaists felt that only
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insurrection and protest could fully express their rage. "The beginnings
of Dada," Tristan Tzara remarked, "were not the beginnings of art, but
of disgust."[5] As Marcel Janco recalled: "We had lost confidence in our
culture. Everything had to be demolished. We would begin again after
the tabula rasa. At the Cabaret Voltaire we began by shocking the
bourgeois, demolishing his idea of art, attacking common sense, public
opinion, education, institutions, museums, good taste, in short, the
whole prevailing order."[6] Through uproarious evenings filled with
noise-music, abstract-poetry readings, and other performances, Dada
began to voice its aggressive message. While Dada evenings soon
became notorious for insurrection and powerful assaults on art and
bourgeois culture, it was through Dada journals that the news of this
developing movement reached all corners of Europe and even the
United States.
Hugo Ball was also responsible for the first journal directly associated
with Dada. Launched in 1916 and named after his Zurich tavern,
Cabaret Voltaire featured a conservative format with many illustrations
and carried contributions by the Dadaists, as well as writings by
Futurists and Cubists.[7] Literary works appear in either French or
German, and in the case of a Huelsenbeck's and Tzara's poem "DADA,"
the two languages are interwoven. Through this review, published by
the anarchist printer Julius Heuberger, Ball sought to define the
activities at the cabaret and to give Dada an identity. In what turned out
to be the first and only issue of Cabaret Voltaire, he wrote: "It is
necessary to clarify the intentions of this cabaret. It is its aim to remind
the world that there are people of independent minds —beyond war and
nationalism—who live for different ideals."[8]
In 1917, after a year of Dada evenings and Dada mayhem, Cabaret
Voltaire was forced to close down, and the Dada group moved their
activities to a new gallery on Zurich's Bahnhofstrasse. Shortly after the
closing of the cabaret, Ball left Zurich and the Romanian poet Tzara
took over Dada's direction. An ambitious and skilled promoter, Tzara
began a relentless campaign to spread the ideas of Dada. As
Huelsenbeck recalled, as Dada gained momentum, Tzara took on the
role of a prophet by bombarding French and Italian artists and writers
with letters about Dada activities. "In Tzara's hands," he declared,
"Dadaism achieved great triumphs."[9] Irreverent and wildly
imaginative, Tzara was to emerge as Dada's potent leader and master
strategist.
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Dada 1, ed. Tristan Tzara (Zurich, July 1917), cover, and Dada 2, ed. Tristan Tzara
(Zurich, December 1917), cover.
Attempting to promulgate Dada ideas throughout Europe, Tzara
launched the art and literature review Dada. Although, at the outset, it
was planned that Dada members would take turns editing the review
and that an editorial board would be created to make important
decisions, Tzara quickly assumed control of the journal. But, as Richter
said, in the end no one but Tzara had the talent for the job, and,
"everyone was happy to watch such a brilliant editor at work."[10]
Appearing in July 1917, the first issue of Dada, subtitled Miscellany of
Art and Literature, featured contributions from members of avantgarde groups throughout Europe, including Giorgio de Chirico, Robert
Delaunay, and Wassily Kandinsky. Marking the magazine's debut, Tzara
wrote in the Zurich Chronicle, "Mysterious creation! Magic Revolver!
The Dada Movement is Launched."[11] Word of Dada quickly spread:
Tzara's new review was purchased widely and found its way into every
country in Europe, and its international status was established.
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Dada 3, ed. Tristan Tzara (Zurich, December 1918), cover.
While the first two issues of Dada (the second appeared in December
1917) followed the structured format of Cabaret Voltaire, the third issue
of Dada (December 1918) was decidedly different and marked
significant changes within the Dada movement itself. Issue number 3
violated all the rules and conventions in typography and layout and
undermined established notions of order and logic. Printed in
newspaper format in both French and German editions, it embodies
Dada's celebration of nonsense and chaos with an explosive mixture of
manifestos, poetry, and advertisements—all typeset in randomly
ordered lettering.
Dada 3, ed. Tristan Tzara (Zurich, December 1918).
The unconventional and experimental design was matched only by the
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radical declarations contained within the third issue of Dada. Included
is Tzara's "Dada Manifesto of 1918," which was read at Meise Hall in
Zurich on July 23, 1918, and is perhaps the most important of the
Dadaist manifestos. In it Tzara proclaimed:
Dada: the abolition of logic, the dance of the impotents of
creation; Dada: abolition of all the social hierarchies and
equations set up by our valets to preserve values; Dada:
every object, all objects, sentiments and obscurities,
phantoms and the precise shock of parallel lines, are
weapons in the fight; Dada: abolition of memory; Dada:
abolition of archaeology; Dada: abolition of the prophets;
Dada: abolition of the future; Dada: absolute and
unquestionable faith in every god that is the product of
spontaneity.[12]
With the third issue of Dada, Tzara caught the attention of the
European avant-garde and signaled the growth and impact of the
movement. Francis Picabia, who was in New York at the time, and Hans
Richter were among the figures who, by signing their names to this
issue, now aligned themselves with Dada. Picabia praised the issue:
Dada 3 has just arrived. Bravo! This issue is wonderful. It
has done me a great deal of good to read in Switzerland,
at last, something that is not absolutely stupid. The whole
thing is really excellent. The manifesto is the expression of
all philosophies that seek truth; when there is no truth
there are only conventions.[13]
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Dada 4 –5 (Anthologie Dada), ed. Tristan Tzara (Zurich, May 1919), cover.
Dada 4–5, printed in May 1919 and also known as Anthologie Dada,
features a cover designed by Arp, a frontispiece by Picabia, and
published work by André Breton, Jean Cocteau, and Raymond
Radiguet. This issue also includes Tzara's third Dada manifesto and four
Dada poems Tzara called "lampisteries." Design experiments continue
in this issue with distorted typography, lettering of various sizes and
fonts, slanted print, and multicolored paper.
Issue 4–5 of Dada was the final one Tzara published in Zurich. With
travel possible again at the end of the war, many of the Zurich group
returned to their respective countries and Dada activities in Zurich
came to an end. With the Dadaists spreading throughout Europe, the
impact of the movement had only just begun. Huelsenbeck, Picabia and
Tzara played principle roles in introducing Dada in other cities.
Berlin
Richard Huelsenbeck left Zurich in 1917 for Germany to initiate Dada
activities and reconnect with the German avant -garde community that
the war had scattered. In Berlin, the devastating years following the war
were marked by unrest, rampant political criticism, and social
upheavals. The stage was set for the emergence of a highly aggressive
and politically involved Dada group. Dada in Berlin took the form of
corrosive manifestos and propaganda, biting satire, large public
demonstrations, and overt political activities.
In Berlin, Huelsenbeck met up with artists Johannes Baader, George
Grosz, and Raoul Hausmann. While Huelsenbeck contributed greatly to
the diffusion of Dadaist ideas through speeches and manifestos, it was
Hausmann who ultimately emerged as one of Germany's most
significant Dadaists. A painter, theorist, photographer, and poet, he
became an aggressive promoter of Dada in Berlin. To establish his
position, in June 1919 he began Der Dada, a short-lived yet powerful
review that reflects the revolutionary tone of Berlin Dada. Contributions
in the first issue by Baader, Hausmann, and Huelsenbeck declare the
left-wing political agenda of Berlin Dada, while writings by Tzara and
Picabia indicate the alliance between the Berlin group and other Dada
centers.
The cover of the first issue of Der Dada, which was characteristic of
Dada's intentional disorder and unconventional design tactics, features
varied type styles and sizes, mathematical abstractions, Hebrew
characters, and several nonsense words, all randomly ordered. Among
this issue's phonetic poems and several abstract woodcuts is an
outrageous —and bogus—announcement that those interested in
learning more about Dada could visit the Office of the President of the
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Republic, where they would be shown Dada artifacts and documents.
Such fabrications highlight the Berlin group's interest in satire, and
their delight in infiltrating official government activities. The cover of
the second issue of Der Dada further proclaimed the authority of Dada
with the declarations that translate as: "Dada conquers!" and "Join up
with Dada." This issue contains articles by Baader and artist John
Heartfield as well as several collages by Hausmann, absurd faked
photographs, and satirical cartoons by Grosz.
Der Dada 3, ed. Raoul Hausmann (Berlin, April 1920), cover.
Issue number 3 of Der Dada is one of the most visually exciting
publications generated by the Berlin group. Edited jointly by Grosz,
Heartfield and Hausmann (who signed their names "Groszfield,"
"Hearthaus," and "Georgemann"), the third issue of Der Dada was the
most diverse issue yet, with several references to Dada in Cologne,
Paris, and Zurich. The cover features a chaotic collage by Heartfield of
words, letters, and illustrations. The issue includes a drawing by George
Grosz, two montages by Heartfield, and photographs of the Dadaists, as
well as cartoons, poetry, and illustrations.
Known for their rebellious and political tenor, it was not long before the
Berlin Dada group members soon directed their aggressions at one
another. With the eruption of many ideological clashes, by 1920 Dada
began to decline in Berlin. Although sporadic publications appeared for
a few years, by 1923 publishing had ceased, and the Berlin Dadaists
began turning their attentions to other activities.
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New York
The same year Tzara introduced his review Dada in Zurich, related
activities took place in New York. Not unlike Zurich, New York had
become a refuge for European artists seeking to escape the war. For
artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia, the American city
presented great potential and artistic opportunity. Soon after arriving
there in 1915, Duchamp and Picabia met the American artist Man Ray.
By 1916, the three men had become the center of radical anti -art
activities in New York. While they never officially labeled themselves
Dada, never wrote manifestos, and never organized riotous events like
their counterparts in Europe, they issued similar challenges to art and
culture. As Richter recalled, the origins of Dadaist activities in New York
"were different, but its participants were playing essentially the same
anti-art tune as we were. The notes may have sounded strange, at first,
but the music was the same."[14]
The anti -art undercurrents brewing in New York provided an ideal
climate for Picabia's provocative journal 391. Published over a period of
seven years, 391 is the longest running journal in the Mary Reynolds
Collection. The magazine first appeared in Barcelona in 1917, and was
modeled after the pioneering journal 291, which was published under
the auspices of the photographer and dealer Alfred Stieglitz.[15] Picabia
was able to put out four issues of 391 in Barcelona with the support of
some like-minded expatriates and pacifists.
391 2, ed. Francis Picabia (Barcelona, February 10, 1917), cover.
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Although 391's corrosive spirit was only just emerging in these early
issues, the anarchic attitude that would later define the magazine and its
editor is already apparent. These first issues introduce, for example, a
section devoted to a series of bogus news reports. As Gabrielle BuffetPicabia recalled, this feature began as a mere joke and "quickly
degenerated in subsequent issues into a highly aggressive system of
assault, defining the militant attitude which became characteristic of
391."[16] These early issues include literary works by poet Max Jacob,
painter Marie Laurencin, and Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, as well as
by Picabia, and feature cover illustrations of absurd machines designed
by Picabia.
By the time Picabia took 391 to New York at the end of 1917, the
magazine had assumed a decidedly assertive and irreverent tone. The
New York editions of 391, issues five through seven, celebrate Picabia's
nihilistic side and his love of provocation and nonsense. Buffet-Picabia
had this to say about 391:
It remains a striking testimonial to the revolt of the spirit
in defense of its rights, against and in spite of all the
world's commonplaces...Without other aim than to have
no aim, it imposed itself by the force of its word, of its
poetic and plastic inventions, and without premeditated
intention it let loose, from one shore of the Atlantic to the
other, a wave of negation and revolt which for several
years would throw disorder into the minds, acts, works, of
men.[17 ]
Picabia's three New York issues feature contributions by collector
Walter Arensberg, painters Albert Gleizes and Max Jacob, and
composer Edgar Varèse.
While Picabia was involved primarily with the group of artists
surrounding Alfred Stieglitz and with the publication of 391, Duchamp
made connections with Arensberg, through whom he became involved
in the Society of Independent Artists. It was this organization,
interested in sponsoring jury-free exhibitions, that gave Duchamp the
idea for The Blind Man—a publication that would invite any writer to
print whatever he or she wanted. The inaugural issue, published on
April 10, 1917 by Duchamp and writer Henri -Pierre Roché, has
submissions by poet Mina Loy, Roché, and artist Beatrice Wood.
Emphasizing the informal editorial policies and uncertain future of The
Blind Man, the front cover proclaims, "The second number of The Blind
Man will appear as soon as YOU have sent sufficient material for it."
When this hastily published first issue came out, the editors realized
that they had forgotten to print the address of the magazine on the
cover. To remedy this, a rubber stamp was created and used to imprint
this information on the front cover of each issue.[18 ]
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The Blind Man 1, eds. Marcel Duchamp, Beatrice Wood, and Henri-Pierre Roch é (New
York, April 10, 1917), cover.
Since Duchamp and Roché were not American citizens, and therefore
faced possible conflicts with authorities, Beatrice Wood stepped forward
to assume responsibility for The Blind Man. Because her father
subsequently protested her involvement (due to the periodical's
content), it was decided that rather than making it available to
mainstream audiences through newsstands, The Blind Man would be
distributed by hand at galleries.[19]
The Blind Man 2, eds. Marcel Duchamp, Beatrice Wood, and Henri-Pierre Roch é (New
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York, May 1917), pp. 2 –3.
The second issue of The Blind Man came out two months after the first,
[20] following the opening of the Society of Independent Artists' 1917
exhibition and the rejection of Duchamp's infamous entry Fountain, a
urinal that the artist signed with a fictitious name and anonymously
submitted as sculpture. This issue features Stieglitz's photograph of
Fountain and the editorial "The Richard Mutt Case," which discusses
the rejection of Duchamp's entry. Also included in this issue were
contributions by Arensberg, Buffet, Loy, and Picabia, among others.
While The Blind Man had caught the attention of the New York art
community, a wager brought an early end to the magazine. In a very
Dada gesture, Picabia and Roché had set up a chess game to decide who
would be able to continue publishing his respective magazine. Picabia,
playing to defend 391, was triumphant: Roché and Duchamp were
forced to discontinue The Blind Man.[21]
Following the early demise of The Blind Man, Duchamp launched
another short-lived magazine. Edited by Duchamp, Roché, and Wood,
Rongwrong (May 1917) carries contributions by Duchamp and others
within Arensberg's circle, as well as documentation of the moves from
Picabia's and Roché's infamous chess game. Duchamp intended the title
of the magazine to be Wrongwrong, but a printing error transformed it
into Rongwrong. Since this mistake appealed to Duchamp's interest in
chance happenings, he accepted the title.
The appearance of the journal New York Dada (April 1921) ironically
marked the beginning of the end of Dada in New York. Created by
Duchamp and Man Ray, this magazine would be the only New York
journal that would claim itself to be Dada. Wishing to incorporate
"dada" in the title of this new magazine, Man Ray and Duchamp sought
authorization from Tzara for use of the word. In response to their
tongue-in-cheek request Tzara replied, "You ask for authorization to
name your periodical Dada. But Dada belongs to everybody."[22] In
addition to printing Tzara's response in its entirety, this first and only
issue also carried a cover designed by Duchamp, photography by Man
Ray, poetry by artist Marsden Hartley, as well as several illustrations. As
with so many self-published artistic journals, this first issue was neither
distributed nor sold, but circulated among friends with the hope that it
would generate a following. New York Dada, however, was unable to
ignite any further interest in Dada. By the end of 1921, Dada came to an
end in New York and its original nucleus departed for Paris, where Dada
was enjoying its final incarnation.
Paris
Although Dada did not reach Paris until 1920, figures in the Parisian
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literary and artistic world had followed Dada activities either through
Tristan Tzara's journal Dada or through direct communication with
Tzara. Stifled by the restrictions of the war, they were drawn to Dada's
revolutionary spirit and nihilistic antics. Writers Louis Aragon, Breton,
and Ribemont-Dessaignes had in fact occasionally contributed to Dada
since 1918, and were eagerly awaiting Tzara's arrival in Paris. The voice
of Dada would soon be celebrated in Paris.
By 1920 most of the initiators of Dada has arrived in Paris for what was
to be the finale of Dada group activities. Arp and Tzara came from
Zurich, Man Ray and Picabia from New York, and Max Ernst arrived
from Cologne. They were enthusiastically received in Paris by a circle of
writers associated with Breton's and Aragon's literary journal
Littérature. A special Dada issue of Litt érature, with "Twenty-Three
Manifestos of the Dada Movement," soon appeared to celebrate their
arrival.[23] Stimulated by Tzara, this newly formed Paris group soon
began issuing Dada manifestos, organizing demonstrations, staging
performances, and producing a number of journals.
At the height of Dada activity in Paris, Tzara published two more issues
of Dada. The first, issue number 6 (February 1920), also known as
Bulletin Dada, appeared in large format and contained programs for
Dada events, in addition to a series of bewildering poems and
outrageous declarations, all presented in the fragmentary typographical
style that Tzara had begun experimenting with in Zurich.
Dada 6 (Bulletin Dada), ed. Tristan Tzara (Paris, February 1920), cover.
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The many event announcements in this issue reflect the emphasis the
Paris group placed on public performance. Contributors to the sixth
issue of Dada indicate the range of artists who now aligned themselves
with the Dadaists: Breton, Duchamp, Éluard, and Picabia are all
featured in this issue. The last number of Dada (Dadaphone) came out
in March 1920. This issue features photographs of the Paris Dada
members and includes advertisements for other Dada journals and
announcements for Dada events, such as exhibitions and a Dadaist ball.
[24]
Dada 7 (Dadaphone), ed. Tristan Tzara (Paris, March 1920), cover.
When Picabia joined the Dadaists in Paris in 1919, he too brought his
journal with him. In Paris, between the years of 1919 and 1924, he
published issues number nine through eighteen of 391 with
contributions by such figures as writer Robert Desnos, Duchamp, Ernst,
artist René Magritte, and composer Erik Satie. After producing four
issues, Picabia temporarily suspended 391 in order to publish a new
magazine he called Le Cannibale. Although more conservative in format
than its predecessors, Le Cannibale has a provocative spirit and
represents the height of Picabia's involvement in the Paris Dada group.
After only two issues, (April 1920 and May 1920), however, Picabia
abandoned Le Cannibale and resumed publication of 391. For issue
number fourteen, Picabia created one of 391 's most radical design
layouts, using a striking combination of font sizes, type styles, and
positioning of texts.
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391 14, ed. Francis Picabia (Paris, November 1920), cover.
On the cover, he issued an iconoclastic attack on traditional art.
Manipulating the autograph of the classicist artist Jean-AugusteDominique Ingres, Picabia inserted his first name in front of Ingres's.
As "Francis Ingres," Picabia not only sought to undermine the position
of canonical figures such as Ingres, but he also challenged the value
placed on an artist's signature.
The next five issues of Picabia's journal reveal turmoil growing among
the Dadaists and suggestions of a shift in Picabia's allegiance from Tzara
to Breton. By issue number 16, it was clear that Picabia had left the
Dada movement and was focusing on the activities of a newly forming
group under the guidance of Breton. In the nineteenth and final issue of
391 (October 1924), he signed off as "Francis Picabia, Stage Manager for
André Breton's Surrealism."[25]
The dissension evident in these final issues of 391 reflects the
Littérature group's growing disillusionment with Tzara and his
program. Despite his initial enchantment with Tzara,[ 26] by 1922
Breton had begun to have misgivings about the Romanian's directives
for Dada. His nihilistic antics and anti-art proclamations, exhilarating
at first, quickly became tiresome for Paris group members who
essentially sought more meaningful and productive responses to their
discontent. As he started to assert himself and his own program, Breton
began to collide with Tzara. Unable to accommodate Dada to their
enterprises, it was not long before Breton and the Litt érature group
denounced Dada and broke away from Tzara. In one issue of Litt érature
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Breton wrote:
Leave everything.
Leave Dada.
Leave your wife, leave your mistress.
Leave your hopes and fears.
Sow your children in the corner of a wood.
Leave the substance for the shadow....
Set out on the road.[27]
On another occasion, he declared, "We are subject to a sort of mental
mimicry that forbids us to go deeply into anything and makes us
consider with hostility what has been dearest to us. To give one's life for
an idea, whether it be Dada or the one I am developing at present,
would only tend to prove a great intellectual poverty."[28 ] Soon the
world would learn of Breton's developing ideas, and the flag of
Surrealism would be raised.
Paris: The Heart of Surrealism
André Breton marked his definitive break with Dada with the release of
his Manifeste du surrealisme; Poisson soluble in 1924. This treatise
established Breton's position as the leader of Surrealism[29] and earned
him the support of many who had previously participated in the Paris
Dada group. Aragon, Éluard, and the writers René Crevel and Philippe
Soupault were among those who aligned themselves with Breton's new
movement. In his Manifeste du surrealisme, Breton officially
renounced Dada and gave a formal definition for Surrealism:
SURREALISM, n. Psychic automatism in its pure state, by
which one proposes to express—verbally, by means of the
written word, or in any other manner—the actual
functioning of thought. Dictated by thought, in the
absence of any control exercised by reason, exempt from
any aesthetic or moral concern.
ENCYCLOPEDIA. Philosophy. Surrealism is based in the
belief in the superior reality of certain forms of previously
neglected association, in the omnipotence of dream, in the
disinterested play of thought. It tends to ruin once and for
all all other psychic mechanisms and to substitute itself for
them in solving all the principal problems of life.[30 ]
With the release of Breton's Manifeste du surrealisme, Surrealism had a
name, a leader, and a direction.
Like Dada, the Surrealist program was marked by pessimism, defiance,
and a desire for revolution. Under Breton's leadership, however,
Surrealism sought productive, rather than anarchic, responses to the
group's convictions. Exploring the subconscious, dream interpretation,
and automatic writing were just some of the the Surrealists' interests.
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Not only did such experiments appeal to their revolutionary spirit, but
they proved to be remarkable sources of artistic inspiration. Much like
Dada, the history of the Surrealist movement can be traced through its
many journals and reviews. On December 1, 1924, shortly after he
published the first Surrealist manifesto, Breton released the inaugural
issue of La Révolution surréaliste (Surrealist Revolution).[31 ] The
cover announces the revolutionary agenda of the journal: "It is
necessary to start work on a new declaration of the rights of man." With
writers Pierre Naville and Benjamin Péret as its first directors, La
Révolution surréaliste set out to explore a range of subversive issues
related to the darker sides of man's psyche with features focused on
suicide, death, and violence. Modeled after the static format of the
conservative scientific review La Nature, the surrealist periodical took a
pseudo-scientific approach to such themes: it published an impartial
survey on suicide and detached descriptions of violent crime data taken
from police reports. The sober and uninspired format was deceiving,
and much to the delight of the Surrealist group, La Révolution
surréaliste was consistently and incessantly scandalous and
revolutionary. Although the focus was on writing, with most pages filled
by tightly packed columns of text, the review occasionally made room
for a few mediocre reproductions of art, among them works by de
Chirico, Ernst, André Masson and Man Ray.
The third issue of La Révolution surréaliste (April 1925), bearing the
words "End of the Christian Era" on the cover, strikes a decidedly
blasphemous and anticlerical tone with an open letter written to the
pope by the writer and actor Antonin Artaud. His "Address to the Pope"
expresses the Surrealists' revolt against what they viewed as
constraining religious values: "The world is the soul's abyss, warped
Pope, Pope foreign to the soul. Let us swim in our own bodies, leave our
souls within our souls; we have no need of your knife-blade of
enlightenment."[32] Anticlerical remarks such as this are found
throughout La Révolution surréaliste and speak of the Surrealists'
relentless campaign against oppression and bourgeois morality.
In the fourth issue, André Breton announced that he was taking over La
Révolution surréaliste. Concerned by some disruptive factions that had
developed within the Surrealist group, Breton used this issue to assert
his power and restate the principles of Surrealism as he saw them. With
each succeeding issue, La R évolution surréaliste became political, with
articles and declarations that have a pro-Communist slant.
In the eighth issue (December 1926), Éluard revealed the Surrealists'
growing fascination with sexual perversion in a piece celebrating the
writings of the Marquis de Sade, a man who spent much of his life in
prison for his deviant writings about sexual cruelty. According to
Éluard, the Marquis "wished to give back to civilized man the strength
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... Page 18 of 26
of his primitive instincts." Breton, Man Ray, and Salvador Dalí as well
were among those whose writing and imagery exhibited the influence of
Sade.
While Surrealist -inspired writings often were the focus of the journal,
issue 9–10 of La Révolution surréaliste (October 1927) introduces a
significant development in Surrealist imagery, with the first publication
of the Exquisite Corpse (Le Cadavre exquis)—a game greatly enjoyed by
the Surrealists that involved folding a sheet of paper so that several
people could contribute to the drawing of a figure without seeing the
preceding portions. Some of the best results of this game were
published in this issue.
The eleventh issue further explores the Surrealists' interest in sex with
the publication of the group's "Research into Sexuality," an account of a
debate that had taken place during two evenings in January 1928. In
this rather frank discussion, the Surrealists had very openly expressed
their opinions on several matters related to sex, including a wide range
of perversions. The comments of the more than a dozen Surrealist
artists and writers who participated were printed in this issue.
La Révolution surréaliste 12, ed. Andr é Breton (Paris, December 15, 1929), cover.
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La Révolution surréaliste 12, ed. Andr é Breton (Paris, December 15, 1929), p. 1.
In the twelfth and final issue of La Révolution surréaliste (December 15,
1929), Breton published the "Second Surrealist Manifesto." This
declaration marks the end of the most cohesive and focused years of
Surrealism and signals the beginning of disagreement among its many
members. Breton celebrated his faithful supporters and spitefully
denounced those members who had defected from his circle and
betrayed his doctrine.
The views of this dissident group of Surrealists found a voice in the
periodical Documents. The inaugural issue, published in April 1929,
includes writings by ethnographers, archaeologists, and art historians,
with poets Georges Bataille and Michel Leiris emerging as the principal
contributors. Employing much of the conventional graphic design and
thematic focus of La Révolution surréaliste, Documents, with an
editorial board made up of university professors and other scholars with
academic pedigrees, presents a more academic stance. Through
Documents these dissidents attempted to define their directives for the
future of the movement and sought to undermine Breton's claim on
Surrealism. As with so many journals of the time, however, by the end
of 1930, after fifteen issues had been published, the editors turned their
attentions to other projects and Documents ceased to appear.
Breton's successor to La Révolution surréaliste was the more politically
engaged journal Le Surréalisme au service de la Révolution. Although
this journal appeared only sporadically between 1930 and 1933, it made
a lasting mark on Surrealist imagery. Like its predecessor, it sought to
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counter oppression of individual liberties with writing and imagery that
celebrate blasphemy, sadism, and sexual expression. In this first issue,
Dalí, who had just moved to Paris and joined the Surrealists in 1929,
declared, "It must be stated once and for all to art critics, artists, etc.,
that they can expect from the new Surrealist images only deception, a
bad impression and repulsion."[33] In subsequent issues, the
Surrealists would make good on this promise with increasingly
blasphemous and deviant writings. Horrific texts on suicide and
murder, bizarre accounts of the macabre, and a series of explorations of
the work of Sade are just some of the features that run alongside the
journal's aggressive political assertions.
Perhaps due to the outrageous and militant tone of this journal, after
only six issues sales of the journal dropped drastically and lack of
financial backing forced Breton to cease publication in 1933. At this
same time, the publisher Albert Skira had contacted Breton about a new
journal, which he promised would be the most luxurious art and literary
review the Surrealists had seen, featuring a slick format with many color
illustrations. He promised that this magazine would cover all Breton's
interests—poetry, philosophy, archaeology, psychoanalysis, and cinema.
Skira's only restriction was that Breton would not be allowed to use the
magazine to express his social and political views. Although the
extravagance of Minotaure would be unlike any of the raw revolutionary
periodicals conceived by the Surrealists, with Le Surréalisme faltering
and his personal finances in a desperate state, Breton eventually lent his
support to Skira. In the sixth and final issue of Le Surréalisme (May
1933), Breton published a full-page advertisement announcing the
inaugural issue of Minotaure. [34]
In February 1933, four months before the first issue appeared, Skira had
ambitious hopes for his new journal of contemporary art:
Minotaure will endeavor, of set purpose, to single out,
bring together and sum up the elements which have
constituted the spirit of the modern movement, in order to
extend its sway and impact; and it will endeavor, by way
of an attempted refocusing of an encyclopedic character,
to disencumber the artistic terrain in order to restore to
art in movement its universal scope.[35]
With eight hundred subscribers already in hand, in June 1933 the first
two numbers of Minotaure appeared. With cover designs by Pablo
Picasso and Gaston Louis Roux, respectively, these inaugural issues,
expertly printed and designed, assert Minotaure's claim as the authority
on the "spirit of the modern movement." A sumptuous review,
Minotaure is indeed the most lavish journal in the Mary Reynolds
Collection and was the most effective vehicle for promoting Surrealist
imagery.
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Minotaure 11, ed. Albert Skira (Paris, 1938), cover, design by Max Ernst.
Over the next six years, twelve additional vibrant numbers were
released with rich coverage not only of the Surrealists, but of many
other emerging artists as well. Through Minotaure, many little-known
figures such as Hans Bellmer, Victor Brauner, Paul Delvaux, Alberto
Giacometti, and Roberto Matta came to the attention of the art world.
With sensational covers, high-quality photography, and the frequent use
of color, Minotaure brought such artists' work to life like no other
magazine had. It was Minotaure that first reproduced the sculpture of
Picasso, as well as some of the most provocative of Dalí's images. For
Dalí, in particular, Minotaure provided a remarkable forum: his writing
appears in eight issues.
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... Page 22 of 26
Minotaure 8, ed. Albert Skira (Paris, June 1936), cover.
Minotaure 10, ed. Albert Skira (Paris, Winter 1937), cover.
Breton, Éluard, and writer Maurice Heine were among Skira's other
most valued contributors. Not only did this group offer editorial and at
times fundraising assistance, they also regularly contributed features to
Minotaure. Breton's theoretical writings, Éluard's poetry, and Heine's
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... Page 23 of 26
articles about book illustration and the works of Sade all added to its
eclectic and animated contents.
In addition to broad coverage of visual art, poetry, and cinema,
Minotaure reported on new technologies and advances in the human
sciences. As Skira had so ambitiously intended, for a brief time,
Minotaure was indeed a remarkable barometer of contemporary
developments in all cultural activities. Although not exclusively
Surrealist in orientation, it was faithful to the Surrealist spirit, and, with
its appeal to the mainstream art public, gained wider recognition for the
movement. By 1939, however, with Europe in a deep economic slump
and on the verge of World War II, Skira was no longer able to afford to
continue his deluxe magazine. In February 1939, the final issue
appeared.
Surrealism in New York
The outbreak of World War II brought many of the Surrealists to New
York: Dalí, Man Ray, Matta, and Yves Tanguy had all arrived by 1940.
With several European reviews suspended or increasingly inaccessible
due to the war, the Surrealists in New York immediately attempted new
publications. In September 1940, the first issue of View magazine,
edited by Charles Henri Ford, was published. Thirty-one subsequent
issues appeared between 1940 and 1947. View offered coverage of art,
literature, music, and cinema—anything that was new and modern. As
one of its slogans read: "You can't be modern and not read View." While
the scope of this journal was broad, at times View gave particular
attention to the activities of the Surrealists: Duchamp was on the
advisory board, Mary Reynolds was listed as the journal's Paris
Representative, and issue number 7–8 of View (October–November
1941) was dedicated to Surrealism, featuring the art of Artaud, Victor
Brauner, Leonora Carrington, Duchamp, and Masson.
Another New York journal that represented Surrealism was VVV,
published by the young American sculptor David Hare. With Breton,
Ernst, and Duchamp as editorial advisors, VVV gave exiled Surrealist
writers and artists great exposure in the United States. Modeled on
Minotaure and more substantial than View, VVV's three issues feature
"Poetry, plastic arts, anthropology, sociology, psychology." The first
issue (October 1942) has a cover design by Ernst and includes writing
by Breton. Reflecting new connections within the New York art
community, this issue also featured contributions by artist Robert
Motherwell and critic Harold Rosenberg. The next issue, a double
number (March 1943), has front and back covers by Duchamp.
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VVV 2 –3, ed. David Hare (New York, March 1943), cover.
The front cover is an anonymous etching representing an allegory of
death that Duchamp appropriated. The back cover features the shape of
a woman's profile cut out of the cover with a piece of chicken wire
inserted in the opening. The final issue of VVV (February 1944) is
similarly creative and dynamic. With a bold cover designed by Matta,
this issue features many fold-out pages of varying sizes, a combination
of different papers, and many color images.
In addition to extending the life of the Surrealist movement, American
reviews such as View and VVV provided a forum for communication
between the Surrealists and a growing number of emerging American
artists. For artists who later would make up the Abstract Expressionist
group, the Surrealists were a significant and liberating influence. While
Surrealism's potency was in decline by this time, artists of the next
generation would continue to explore its tenets.
Although neither Dada nor Surrealism revolutionized society as
profoundly as their proponents had hoped, they left an indelible mark
on art and writing. These iconoclastic impulses of these movements
remain rich sources of artistic inspiration. The remarkable journals they
generated have preserved a detailed record of the revolutionary
atmosphere in which they were conceived and generated. Through their
journals, the Dadaists and Surrealists defined and broadcast their views
of the world, and expressed their hopes to transform and liberate art
and culture. For admirers of the rich and revolutionary ideas of these
movements, these journals offer unique insights into the minds of their
Documents of Dada and Surrealism: Dada and Surrealist Journals in the Mary Reynolds Collection
... Page 25 of 26
creators.
NOTES
Original editions of journals discussed in this essay, with the exception of Rongwrong,
New York Dada, Littérature, Le Cannibale, and Documents can be found in the Mary
Reynolds Collection at The Art Institute of Chicago.
1. For further information on Dada and Surrealist journals, see Dawn Ades, Dada and
Surrealism Reviewed, exh. cat. (London 1978); and for more on Dada publications, see
Dada Artifacts, exh. cat. (Iowa City, Iowa, 1978.
2. In founding the Cabaret Voltaire, Ball made an arrangement with Herr Ephraim, the
owner of what was then known as Meierei Bar. Ball promised the bar's owner that if he
were allowed to use the space as a cabaret, he would be able to increase the
establishment's sales of beer and food. See Hans Richter, Dada: Art and Anti-Art
(London, 1966), p. 13.
3. Ibid., p. 16.
4. Ibid., p. 12.
5. See Tristan Tzara, "Lecture on Dada," repr. and trans. in The Dada Painters and Poets:
An Anthology, ed. Robert Motherwell (Cambridge, MA, 1989), p. 250.
6. Marcel Janco, "Dada at Two Speeds," trans. in Lucy R. Lippard, Dadas on Art
(Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1971), p. 36.
7. This publication included the first appearance of the term "dada" in print.
8. Hugo Ball "Lorsque je fondis le Cabaret Voltaire" ("When I founded the Cabaret
Voltaire"), Cabaret Voltaire (1916), unpag.; repr. and trans. in Motherwell (note 5), p.
xxv.
9. Richard Huelsenbeck, En Avant Dada: Eine Geschichte des Dadaismus, repr. and trans.
by Ralph Manheim in Motherwell (note 5), p. 29.
10. Richter (note 2), p. 33.
11. Ibid., p. 226.
12. Repr. and trans. in Motherwell (note 5), pp. 107 -108.
13. Maria Lluïsa Borràs, Picabia (New York, 1985), p. 199.
14. Richter (note 2), p. 81.
15. 291, named after Alfred Steiglitz's progressive New York gallery that made its mark
as one of the U.S. centers for the avant-garde, was the city's first journal devoted to the
work of modern artists. Published from March 1915 to February 1916, the nine issues of
291 were known for presenting the most experimental works in art and design. Some
artists featured in 291 include Francis Picabia, Georges Braque, Pablo Picasso and John
Marin.
16. Motherwell (note 5), p. 263.
17. Ibid.
18. Arturo Schwartz, The Complete Works of Marcel Duchamp (New York, 1969), p. 584.
19. See the entry on The Blind Man 2 in Dada Artifacts (note 1), p. 72.
20. In addition to the regular run of this issue, fifty special-edition copies were printed on
imitation Japan paper. These copies were numbered and signed by Beatrice Wood.
21. Dada Artifacts (note 1), p.72.
22. New York Dada April 1921, p. 2.
23. Litt érature was founded by Aragon, Breton, and Philippe Soupault. The twelve issues
of Littérature were published in Paris between March 1919 and April 1921. A rather
eclectic journal, Litt érature features writing by figures such as poets Guillaume Apollinaire
and Paul Valéry along with Arensberg, Arp, and Éluard.
24. Some of the other Dada - related journals published in Paris during this time include
Proverbe, edited by Éluard; Sic, edited by Pierre Albert -Birot; and Nord-Sud, edited by
Pierre Reverdy.
25. Lucy R. Lippard, ed., Surrealists on Art (Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 1970), p. 184.
Documents of Dada and Surrealism: Dada and Surrealist Journals in the Mary Reynolds Collection
... Page 26 of 26
26. At one point, Breton had even contemplated merging his Littérature with Dada.
27. Andr é Breton, "Lâchey tout," in Littérature n.s., no. 2 (April 1922), unpag; repr. and
trans. in Ades (note 1), p. 166.
28. Quoted in Motherwell (note 5), pp. 188-90.
29. The name "Surrealism" was given to the movement by Andr é Breton and Philippe
Soupault in homage to the French writer Guillaume Apollinaire, who first used the word in
1917 to describe his play Les Mamelles de Tirésias.
30. Andr é Breton, Manifestoes of Surrealism, trans. Richard Seaver and Helen R. Lane
(Ann Arbor, 1969), p. 26.
31. Circulation of La R évolution surr éaliste was approximately one thousand.
32. Antonin Artaud, "Adresse au Pape," in La R évolution surréaliste 3 (April 1925), p.16;
repr. and trans. in Patrick Walberg, Surrealism (New York, 1965) p. 59.
33. Ted Gott, "Lips of Coral: Sex and Violence in Surrealism," in Surrealism: Revolution
by Night, exh. cat. (Canberra, 1993), pp. 136- 37.
34. The title Minotaure was suggested by Bataille and Masson and reflects the Surrealists'
interest in myths and their interpretations.
35. For a more in -depth study of Minotaure, see Geneva, Mus ée d'art et d'histoire, Focus
on Minotaure, exh. cat. (1987).
OTHER ESSAYS
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